WTF! After decades in the US, #Iranians arrested in #Trump’s deportation drive
By KIM CHANDLER, CLAIRE RUSH and ELLIOT SPAGAT
Updated 11:59 PM EDT, June 28, 2025
"Mandonna 'Donna' Kashanian lived in the United States for 47 years, married a U.S. citizen and raised their daughter. She was gardening in the yard of her New Orleans home when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers handcuffed and took her away, her family said.
"Kashanian arrived in 1978 on a student visa and applied for asylum, fearing retaliation for her father’s support of the U.S.-backed shah. She lost her bid, but she was allowed to remain with her husband and child if she checked in regularly with immigration officials, her husband and daughter said. She complied, once checking in from South Carolina during #HurricaneKatrina. She is now being held at an immigration #DetentionCenter in #BasileLouisiana, while her family tries to get information.
"Other Iranians are also getting arrested by immigration authorities after decades in the United States. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security won’t say how many people they’ve arrested, but U.S. military strikes on Iran have fueled fears that there is more to come.
" 'Some level of vigilance, of course, makes sense, but what it seems like ICE has done is basically give out an order to round up as many Iranians as you can, whether or not they’re linked to any threat and then arrest them and deport them, which is very concerning,' said Ryan Costello, policy director of the National Iranian American Council, an advocacy group.
"#HomelandSecurity did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment on Kashanian’s case but have been touting arrests of Iranians. The department announced the arrests of at least 11 Iranians on immigration violations during the weekend of the U.S. missile strikes. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said, without elaborating, that it arrested seven Iranians at a Los Angeles-area address that 'has been repeatedly used to harbor illegal entrants linked to #terrorism.' "
https://apnews.com/article/iran-immigration-arrests-us-trump-deportations-9a4136657bda3a277125738807848368
#ICEKidnapping #USPol #Authoritarianism #ICESucks #IllegalDetention #InternmentCamps #Fascism #HumanRightsViolations #HumanRights #BorderPatrol #Project2025 #EnemiesOfTheState